1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fitting for connecting a collapsible piece of furniture, particularly a folding bed, to a wall or the like. The fitting includes bearings for the piece of furniture, for at least one swivel leg linkage of the piece of furniture and/or for devices for damping or load reduction during swivel movements of the piece of furniture.
2. Description of the Related Art
Particularly when the available space is limited, pieces of furniture which are used only temporarily are constructed so as to be collapsible in order to save space. For example, folding tables are commonly in use as well as so-called Murphy beds which are hinged to the interior of wardrobe-like housings and can be swiveled upwardly after use into the housing where they are stored in a space-saving manner during the time they are not in use. Appropriate fittings are used for connecting the collapsible piece of furniture to the corresponding walls or housings.
Thus, in the case of folding beds, in addition to a swivel bearing for the bed frame, these fittings usually have a bearing for a linkage provided for swiveling the swivel legs of the folding bed when the bed frame is folded in and out between a position parallel to the bed frame and a position perpendicular to the bed frame. Moreover, particularly in the case of pieces of furniture having a relatively high weight, auxiliary devices are used for damping the movement of the piece of furniture during the folding out movement thereof and for facilitating the folding by reducing the weight. These additional devices, such as gas springs, are also connected to one side of the fittings.
The known fittings are constructed as a single piece. In order to simplify and accelerate the assembly at the location of use, the folding beds are supplied by the manufacturers with preassembled fittings which are connected to the bearing points of the gas spring and the swivel leg linkage on the side of the fitting.
In order to ensure an easy and smooth swiveling of the folding bed, and for avoiding damage to the folding bed or the housing of the bed as a result of a misalignment of the bed frame in the housing interior, it is necessary to exactly align the bed frame in the bed housing. This is effected by appropriate adjustment and subsequent securing of the fittings to the housing walls.
However, the exact adjustment poses substantial difficulties in conventional fittings. Thus, for marking the fastening points of the fittings to the housing walls, it is necessary to place and align in the bed housing the entire arrangement composed of preassembled fittings, bed frame, swivel leg linkage and gas spring. However, the folding bed arrangement is very difficult to manipulate especially because of the relatively great weight of the arrangement and because of the limited space available in the housing interior. This may result in inaccuracies in the alignment of the folding bed and, consequently, in damage to the piece of furniture during the use thereof.